Kyra was a blast in California

Say, say oh playmate...

We went for Whitney's high school graduation. I was a little worried about how Kyra was going to react with an unfamiliar house full of people. I shouldn't have been worried. She could not have had more fun. She began to make it a habit to walk around the house poking her head in every door, and saying "Hi!" Chances were there would be someone in the room to answer back, and she LOVED that.

The backyard-again, and again, and again

In the garden of Gramps and Grandma Jill, Kyra had endless hours of fun (and mommy took quite a few hours worth of naps!). There were peas in grandpa's garden, a bench swing for sitting, shade at any time of day in some part of the yard, and a gorgeous 20+ year-old cherry tree.
In fact, thanks to Gramps' garden, peas are no longer a food to be thrown on the floor. Indeed not! Peas are now eaten by taking a few in each hand and then putting both hands in the mouth at the same time. Not only did Kyra love the fresh, sweet, baby peas right out of the pod, she also loved the snow peas, pod and all.
I didn't think that with only 6 teeth (and all of them in the front) it would be possible to eat a pea pod. I guess that enough determination makes up for whatever else lacks.

P.S. Did I mention there were magnolia trees? Kyra has always been fascinated with crunchy leaves, but in Texas she's only gotten her hands on the small ones that come off our trees and bushes. Imagine her delight when she found this leaf to crunch!

Hi Ho! Cherry-O

The old cherry tree in the backyard, (thanks to a bird net) was absolutely dripping with Lambert cherries. These were sweet and juicy, and they just happened to be ripe for the picking.

Now, Kyra likes fruit (she is certainly her father's daughter), but Kyra LOVES cherries. She even got one down, pit and all. Grandma was showing Kyra what the whole cherry looked like with a stem right off the tree. Kyra smiled, picked up the cherry by the stem, and then faster than I thought was possible, put the whole cherry in her mouth. We got the stem, but that was all. I think that the act of trying to get into her mouth made her all the more determined. She chewed once or twice, but in the interest of not letting me take it from her, she swallowed it, pit and all.

We picked THOUSANDS of cherries off that tree. Yet, I'm still convinced that she could have eaten every one had we let her.